Aluminium is highly recyclable. So why don't consumers see it as sustainable?

GlobalData research shows aluminium packaging faces a perception gap, with consumers associating glass far more strongly with sustainability

Aluminium has a strong circularity story, but consumers are not necessarily seeing it that way. New research from GlobalData shows that only 21 per cent of consumers associate metal packaging with sustainability in alcoholic drinks, rising marginally to 22 per cent for non-alcoholic drinks. By comparison, glass received sustainability associations from 51 per cent and 50 per cent of consumers respectively.

The findings, based on GlobalData's Q3 2025 survey of 21,000 people across 42 countries, reveal a significant perception gap for aluminium packaging. While the survey asked about metal rather than aluminium specifically, the findings are relevant to aluminium because of its widespread use in beverage cans.

The result puts metal almost alongside plastic in consumers' minds. Plastic scored 21 per cent for alcoholic drinks and 23 per cent for non-alcoholic beverages, while paperboard performed better at 34 per cent and 36 per cent.

For an industry built around aluminium's ability to be recycled repeatedly, the message is clear: being recyclable does not automatically make a material appear sustainable to consumers.

Why aren't aluminium's recycling credentials getting through?

Aluminium is lightweight, durable and can be recycled repeatedly without losing its basic properties. It is also well suited to deposit return schemes for drinks containers.

Yet consumers rarely see what happens to an aluminium can after it enters a collection system.

A can may be recyclable in theory, but its sustainability benefits depend on whether it is actually collected, sorted, reprocessed and turned into another useful product.

The chain is straightforward:

Recyclable packaging → collection → sorting → reprocessing → new packaging

If a used can never enters that chain, its technical recyclability delivers little practical benefit.

This distinction is becoming increasingly important for brands and packaging producers, particularly as sustainability claims face greater scrutiny.

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Recycled aluminium tells a different energy story

The perception gap is notable because recycled aluminium has a significant energy advantage over primary production.

According to the International Aluminium Institute, recycled aluminium uses around 95 per cent less primary energy than producing aluminium from primary material.

However, that advantage depends on effective recovery. If aluminium cans are not collected and recycled, the opportunity to save that energy is lost.

The environmental performance of aluminium also varies depending on how the metal is produced. Primary aluminium requires substantial energy, while its carbon footprint depends partly on the electricity sources used during production.

That means simply placing a recycling symbol on a can does not tell consumers the full sustainability story.

For stronger environmental claims, packaging companies and beverage brands can provide information on recycled content, collection rates, local recycling infrastructure and the final use of recovered material.

Why does glass have a stronger sustainability image?

One possible explanation is familiarity. Glass bottles and jars have long been connected with household recycling, bottle banks and returnable packaging. Consumers can easily visualise a glass container being collected, reused or recycled.

The circular journey of an aluminium can is less visible. Consumers put a can into a collection system, but rarely see it being sorted, remelted and turned into new packaging.

That perception does not establish that glass has a lower environmental impact than aluminium.

Glass is heavier, which can increase transport requirements, while its production involves high-temperature furnaces. Its weight and fragility can also influence how reuse systems operate.

GlobalData's survey measures consumer perception rather than lifecycle environmental performance. The two should not be treated as the same thing.

Nevertheless, the gap matters commercially. Consumers may make quick sustainability judgements based on familiar ideas about packaging, even when detailed lifecycle assessments are considerably more complicated.

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Regulation is raising the stakes

The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation began applying on August 12, 2026, with recycling targets of 50 per cent for aluminium packaging waste and 70 per cent for glass, rising to 60 per cent and 75 per cent respectively by 2030.

The regulation is also set to introduce recyclability performance grades from 2030, while requirements covering whether packaging is recycled at scale are due to follow from 2035.

This points towards a packaging market where simply being technically recyclable may no longer be enough. Producers will increasingly need to demonstrate that packaging can function effectively within real collection and recycling systems.

Deposit return schemes can help by encouraging consumers to return drinks containers while creating relatively clean streams of recovered material. They can also make the recycling process more visible.

For consumers, knowing whether a can is covered by a deposit, where it can be returned and what happens afterwards can make the circularity of aluminium easier to understand.

Aluminium has a story to communicate

The stakes are significant because aluminium remains an important beverage packaging material. GlobalData ranks it second globally by beverage pack units sold and expects the material to grow by more than 2 per cent over the next five years.

Demand is being supported by ready-to-drink products, functional beverages, hard seltzers, premixed cocktails and smaller on-the-go formats.

If consumers instinctively associate glass or paperboard with sustainability more strongly than aluminium, those perceptions could influence packaging decisions, even when the environmental performance of individual formats depends on factors such as recycled content, production energy, transport and end-of-life treatment.

For aluminium producers and packaging manufacturers, the challenge is therefore not simply to say that aluminium is recyclable. They need to make its circularity visible and measurable.

That means showing how much recycled aluminium is being used, how effectively cans are collected, how much energy can be saved through recycling and how recovered metal returns to packaging applications.

GlobalData's findings ultimately highlight a broader lesson for sustainable packaging: technical circularity and consumer perception are not the same thing.

Aluminium may have strong recycling credentials, but if consumers cannot see the journey from used can to new product, the industry's sustainability story risks being lost.